Lovi Poe takes a break from drama

Sultry actress shows off comedic chops in ‘Woke Up Like This’
The name Lovi Poe has almost always been associated with the words sexy, sultry and dramatic. Whenever she appears both on the small and big screens, one can expect her to either cry on cue or shed some clothes.

For these, the 28-year-old has not gone unnoticed. She has to credit numerous acting nominations and awards for TV shows like “Bakekang”—considered her biggest break in 2006—“Legacy” and “Ang Dalawang Misis Real.”

She also earned several nods for movie roles in “Mayohan,” “Sagrada Familia,” “Yesterday Today and Tomorrow,” “Thy Womb” and “Sana Dati.”

Poe was neither shy to take on daring roles in “My Neighbor’s Wife,” “Temptations Island” and “The Escort,” nor pose for sexy magazines to showcase her toned physique. As such, she has been hailed as one of the sexiest dramatic actresses of her generation.

The actress’ trademarks, however, will take a back seat as Poe stars opposite funnyman Vhong Navarro in Regal Entertainment’s new comedy movie “Woke Up Like This.”

Opening in cinemas today, the movie—which is also a pun on the trending social media hashtag #wokeuplikethis that connotes natural and effortless beauty—revolves around Sabrina (Poe), a supermodel, and Nando (Navarro), a hard court hero whose selfishness and apathy cause them to magically wake up one day in switched bodies.

“No love scenes for the mean time!” the actress teased during her movie’s grand media launch when asked for the big difference in her new movie.

True, she may have had cameos in comedy movies before but never has Poe taken on a lead role in this genre.

Lovi Poe is paired opposite Vhong Navarro in her first comedy film

“To be honest, I’ve become comfortable doing drama and crying on cue. But this time, it’s a lot harder. Thankfully, I had everyone here helping me to become familiar in this new world,” Poe said as she shared a panel interview with Navarro and the rest of the Woke Up Like This cast.

The actress mentioned that Navarro’s help particularly came in handy when she had to learn how to sit and eat like a man when their characters switch.

Poe was also thankful for getting along with the rest of the cast including Joey Marquez, Yana Asistio, Bayani Agbayani, Raikko Mateo and newcomer Cora Waddell, resulting in “great teamwork.”

“For any movie, kailangan talaga ng team work, you can’t just memorize the script and act it out—the chemistry must be there. So, from the never beginning, we were all introduced and were allowed to get to know each other before the film started rolling,” Poe noted.

With this new experience, the actress said she is grateful for all the lessons she can bring with her in case she does another comedy. “I learned to exaggerate to emphasize the comedic nature of a scene but more importantly, I learned to have fun while acting and that naturally shows in the movie.”

At the end of the day, however, Poe realized that the lessons she amassed during the filming of Woke Up Like would never suffice to help her understand the opposite sex.

“I’ve always felt that it’s much cooler to be a man, they are more nonchalant in their everyday activities. Of course it’s a challenge to play a man but after portraying this character, I still feel the same. I cannot say that I understand them better now, cause men will always be a mystery to me and after this movie I realized, maybe that’s the beauty of it all to begin with,” Poe finally shared.